Summer Fever
by Axelkin
Summary: Months after defeating the Fodra queen everyone reunites for Asbel and Cheria's wedding. Can Hubert get Pascal to understand what he has been trying to tell her? Or will she still be just as oblivious as his brother Asbel and be stuck with an empty heart?
1. Words Say it All

A/N: I decided to take a break from my usual type of work and write a little something sweeter than normal. I also just finished playing ToG:F and I have to say, loved the game, just was a little sad that Hubert didn't actually get Pascal. We all know what happens for Asbel and Cheria... Anyways. At least there is always hope, and as Malik said: "It takes a lot of energy taming a stray cat. Just hang in there." Too cute. Also, I noticed not a lot of fics for Hubert. Sad. He might be a bit of a punk, but you got to say he is pretty awesome in battle. :P And Pascal is one of my favs too. Enjoy! Now back to my other stuff. :)

Just fixed some minor spelling and grammar mistakes. While I know I may have missed a few, nobody is without faults and if/when I find them I will fix them. Thanks. I also changed the rating to T for some mild suggestiveness.

* * *

**Summer Fever**

**Words Say it All**

Hubert Oswell sat at his desk hovering tiredly over the piles of paperwork that hid nearly the entire space that was provided to him by the Stratha military. He let out a heavy sigh as he bent over reviewing and signing the mounds of documents before him. His glasses slid down his nose and he scratched the side of it before pushing them back into place. For anyone else, they would have found it useless to position them back into place for they would surely slide back down due to the film of sweat that layered his skin for being stuck in a stuffy office all day. But not Hubert; he always made sure that he looked proper and that everything was always in place. It was even the middle of summer and even though the cryas from the Strathan Valkines was working properly again, it was still hot. The water from the oasis only added to the strained humidity in the air and made it hard to not get a little flustered throughout the day. He sighed again and pushed his glasses back up his nose. There was something to be said about wanting to be somewhere where the temperature was much more tolerable.

A light tap followed by a chirping noise caught his attention and he looked up to see a yellow mechanical bird fluttering at the window to his office. In a flash, Hubert was opening the window and ushering in the tiny bird, closing it quickly as to not let in any more humidity then he could stand. The bird whizzed around his head as he fumbled inside his uniform to produce the communicator receiver. Right now, he could do with a distraction and this one was a distraction he was glad to have.

It had been nearly eight months to the day since he had come back to Stratha and after having constant distractions and running about made life back home feel a little, well, boring. He missed everyone. Letters did not seem to fulfill the emptiness that had grown in his heart the past few months. Time seemed like it had stretched and warped itself around him making it seem like an eternity since he had last seen everyone together. Malik sometimes visited him when he was on official business, as well as Richard. But his brother Asbel and Cheria were busy with Lhant and Sophie so it was just letters he got from them. _At least I will get to see them in not too long for the wedding._ Asbel had finally gotten up the courage to ask Cheria to marry him and help him take care of Sophie and everyone, especially their mother, was ecstatic.

That left only one other person he had not seen in quite some time: Pascal. His heart involuntarily skipped a beat as he pulled out the communicator and the bird flew into it. He had not seen Pascal since they had parted ways in Zavhart. Not that they did not communicate on a regular basis, thanks to Captain Malik, but neither of them had time to see each other since. Hubert was two minded about it. Firstly, he was glad that he did not have to have any other awkward moments with the bright Amarican and was still nervous about his feeling for her. He thought that being away from her would ease the tension but it did not; he found that he thought about her even more. Secondly, he sorely wished he could see her to try and make her understand how he felt. Maybe if she understood, it would give him some sort of resolve and also to see how she felt about him.

The communicator beeped and lit up with Pascal's message and Hubert sat back down at his desk, setting it down over his previous documents and set his attention on the little screen:

_"Hey Hu,_

_Boy is Lhant crazy! You were right that your mom had been obsessing over Asbel and Cheria. It's like nothing else exists right now! The whole town is in a state of summer wedding fever and are all trying to help out with the preparations. Oh yeah, I should probably tell you that I finished installing the new cryas air and water converters in Barona and decided to come down to Lhant and help out your big brother with all the crazy, dazy wedding stuff! Too bad you're not here yet. Maybe you should see if the President will let you have some more time off and head out here early. Asbel says it would be great to have someone else here to keep him sane. Obviously I'm not enough. Well, see you soon, Hu!_

_Pascal"_

Hubert blinked at the communicator and ignored his glasses as they slid back down his nose again. A small part of him figured that she would be at Asbel and Cheria's wedding, but he would have never thought that she would go there early and then suggest he do the same. He sighed and closed his eyes as he repositioned his glasses. It was just like Pascal to be spontaneous and he should know that by now. Nothing should surprise him about her, but she always managed to do so. Although he had initially dreaded receiving her mumble jumble letters, after a few months of casual exchanges he found that they were more tolerable than he thought. She also seemed to have calmed down a bit and was less filled with made up words and jabs. Sometimes he still did not understand a word she said when it came to her research, but it still made him smile when he saw the mechanical bird fly towards him. While he understood that her research was bettering the lives of everyone in the three kingdoms, he did not quite get what she was doing. _"Someday, I'll show ya Hu."_ she had commented in one of her recent letters to him.

He picked up the communicator and thought long about how to reply to her. There was no reason why he could not ask for some extra time to spend with his family, but he did not want that to be an excuse so he could get some time with Pascal, even if she did not quite understand that he had feeling for her. Also, normally he would not hesitate to visit the President with such a request but he had yet to formally tell the President that he was declining the proposal of marriage to the President's daughter. She was a nice girl, but he could not give himself to someone when his heart wanted another. Also, eight months was a long time to push off a response. He sighed and imputed a letter back to Pascal.

_"Dear Pascal,_

_I will ask the President if it is possible, but I make no promises. Let Asbel know that I hope to be there early._

_Hubert"  
_

With the million and one things that ran through his head, he wanted to make his response simple and short. He opened his window again as he let the bird fly out towards the open sky and onward to its destination over the bright sand and ocean. With a sigh he pocketed his communicator and returned to his desk, writing a formal request to see the President before returning to his previous tasks.

* * *

Hubert tugged on the ends of his uniform as he tried not to pace as he waited to be summoned inside the President's office. The multiple water fountains bubbled merrily along the interior of the Presidential Manor. Normally such a sound would soothe his anxiety but it would have to be more than a few little water fountains to do that today. Finally after what seemed like hours he was let in and the old man greeted him graciously.

"Ah, Hubert! What is it that you wanted to talk to me about?" He waved his hand inviting him to take a seat in front of his desk. "Have you finally made a decision on my proposal?"

Hubert blushed wildly and looked off to the side. "A-actually I came to ask you if I could possibly have some more time off to visit my brother in anticipation of his wedding…" He cringed slightly at that particular word. A part of him wished that he could avoid the topic but he knew that it was inevitable.

"Oh, I see. Well of course! There is nothing more exhilarating than a wedding to get you all worked up about marriage. Perhaps you will have an answer for me when you get back." The President smiled cheerfully at him and Hubert blushed even deeper.

"Um, well, you see I… Well, there is this…" He was not sure how to say it to someone of his stature. It was embarrassing enough to admit his feeling to Pascal and not get any sort of real response, to tell the President of his home that he had no intentions of marrying his daughter was even more so. He took a deep breath and looked the man in the eyes. "I… My heart belongs to someone else and I am sorry to say that I will have to decline your offer. I cannot take on a responsibility in which I won't be able to fulfill my duties to the fullest. I am sorry, Mr. President."

"Ah…" For a moment Hubert was afraid that he had done something he should not have. "I understand, Hubert. You are a very respectful man and that was why I had choose you, but you are young and young love should flourish if given the chance. Besides, even though I would have enjoyed having you as a son in law, there are many other possible suitors for my daughter."

"S-sir?" Hubert was surprised; he had not expected that.

The President smiled just as warmly as he did when he first entered the room. "Now off with you! Tell your brother congratulations for me." He waved him out of the office without pause.

Hubert stood outside the door as he froze in shock. "Well, that went well." He muttered to himself and finally got control over his body to walk back home to ready himself for the journey to Lhant.


	2. When Genius Meets Cryas

****Another chapter. Enjoy!

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**When Genius Meets Cyras**

The air was less thick and smelt sweet from the cooking that came from the houses in Lhant. It had only been three days ago that he was sitting in a stuffy office filled with mountains of endless work and now he had stepped into what obviously had turned out to be a festive for the town. Hubert smiled and acknowledged people as he made his way towards the manor and to see his brother. Over the many years the town never seemed to change. With the exception of the influx of flowers, probably on Sophie's part, it looked the same it did the last time he was there. He even found the purple haired young woman sitting next to the flower beds nursing a newly planted flower as he came upon the manor.

"Hello, Sophie." He greeted her.

"Hubert!" Sophie squealed. "You're here! Oh, you are early too. Asbel! Asbel! Hubert is here!"

The young woman bounced up off the ground and whirled around him a few times before taking off inside the manor in search for her adopted father. Hubert smiled as he followed her inside with his luggage. He handed it to the servant and followed Sophie's cheerful voice to the office. Both Asbel and Cheria were there waiting for him.

"Oh, Hubert! We are excited that you came early!" Cheria grinned her usual smile. "Pascal said that you may be early but you weren't sure."

Hubert blushed. _They must think I came early to see Pascal._ Asbel smiled along with his fiancé. "I'm glad you are here brother. At least now my sanity will be somewhat intact by the time the wedding actually happens."

"Tch, only you would be slightly detached for a situation like that, big brother." Hubert teased. "I assume I will be in our old room?" He had figured by then their mother would be letting them ready their new bedroom as the head of the manor. Although he was quite sure only Asbel stayed there for now.

"You're quite right."

"You must be tired from your journey." Cheria pointed out. "Go rest, we will send someone to get you when diner is ready."

Hubert thanked them both and took himself up the stairs towards his old room. He was ready to rest and was glad that the temperature in Lhant was much milder than in Stratha. Although, he knew that his old room was still a bit warm compared to the rest of the house but was glad to be away from the constant humidity. Knowing this he was completely taken by surprise when he was met with a cool breeze when he entered the room.

"Wha?"

"Hey, shut the door or you will let out all the cold air!" A voice from the back of the room chimed in. Hubert shut the door behind him without a second thought. A head of white bobbed up out from behind the furthest bed and glanced over that the door. "Hu!" Pascal pounced up excitedly. "You made it early!"

"I-I did." He was a bit shocked at the fact that she was in his bed room. "What… did you do to the room? It's much cooler than it normally is."

"Oh, it's some of my research that I've been doing over the past few months! Isn't it great? No more having to worry about the temperature inside when it is not so great outside! Just a few bidity bobities with controlled eleth and wham! Temperature at your fingertips!" Pascal snapped her figures and smiled.

"Yeah, it's defiantly nice." He managed to say.

"Oh wait to you see what else I've been doing!" Pascal spun around and danced in front of him. He opened his mouth to ask what she was doing in his room when he saw that his luggage was not the only luggage there. "I am going to have the whole house cooled just like this room. I did this one first because I figured you'd be all tired of the heat from being in Stratha all year. I know I can't stand all that heat!"

"Ah, so that's why you're in my room."

"You're room?" She blinked. "Well, I'm going to be staying in here too silly! Yay for roommates!"

Hubert all but lost his balance and stumbled over his luggage. "W-wha?"

"Don't get all wonky, Hu. There are two beds." She pointed out to him standing a couple of feet from him with her hands on her hips. "Besides, in a few days everyone else will be here and it will be crowded."

"Yeah." He muttered under his breath. "I guess you're right."

It was going to be an interesting couple of weeks having to share the same space as her when he had not even seen her in months. What was he thinking? On their long travels over the past two years he had spent many times closer to her than the space that was provided between these two beds in the Lhant Manor. He sighed a pulled his luggage up on the bed closest to the door and started to unpack. Even though he was tired enough to sleep through the next two days he was a stickler for having things done correctly and did not want any of the servants pawing through his things to put them up for him. He had all but unhinged his luggage when Pascal reminded him that she was still standing in the same room.

"Whatcha think you're doing?"

Hubert rose an eyebrow at her. "Unpacking, what does it look like?"

"That can wait." Pascal closed the distance between them and grabbed his wrist. "Common, I want to show you what else I've been doing!"

"W-wait… Pascal!" He clawed at the air towards his things and tried to keep his feet planted in place without success. "Pascal, I am quite tired and would like some rest."

She dragged him out the door and across the landing. "That can wait. You've _got_ to see this."

Hubert sighed and let her lead him towards the master bedroom. If there was one thing he knew he could not stop was Pascal on a mission. If he indulged in her process he found that he could get things done a lot quicker and with less hassle. So a few minutes walking around and letting her show him what she had been up to would mean she would probably leave him be for the rest of the day about it. Not that spend some time with her was something he was trying to avoid, but he just wanted to be less tired when he did. He quickened his pace to match hers and took notice when she elected not to let go of his wrist. That was when he noticed that her skin felt softer than he remembered and…

"Pascal?"

"Yeah?" she did not even turn to look at him.

"You smell…" that caught her attention. "… nice."

It was true. Not that it ever mattered to him what she smelled like. But there was a certain lack of random odder and a hint of soap. Pascal stopped and let go of his wrist and smiled with her eyes closed and scratched the top of her head. _Just like I remember,_ he thought.

"Heh, you noticed." Hubert nodded and started to blush. He rubbed his arm and looked off to the side trying not to meet her gaze. "Well, that's something I wanted to show ya!" Pascal opened the door to the master bathroom and Hubert looked inside but did not see anything that stood out.

"Uh… I do know what the inside of the bathroom looks like, Pascal." He was trying not to be rude but he did not get what she was showing him.

"Yeah, but look silly." She went on a bit obliviously like normal and pointed at the tub.

Hubert started to open is mouth to make another remark when he saw that there was something different about the bathroom. The tub had some odd metal pipe sticking out up above it and there was a curtain on a rod as well. He leaned in to inspect it, adjusting his glasses to keep them from falling, and could not figure out what it was supposed to be.

"Ok, I give up. What did you do?"

"Well, you know how everyone is always complaining about how I don't bathe often?" Hubert just gave her a look and she continued without pause. "It's not because I don't want to. It just takes up sooo much time and I lose getting to work on my research. So when I was visiting Richard I got to thinking that what if there was a way to bathe without taking much time? I had just finished with the temperature control unites in Barona and Richard suggested that why I didn't use water cryas like I was using the air cryas; something similar like I was doing in Fendal with the water pipes to take hot water to all the homes there. So I bashed and banged up some stuff and stuck it together and this is what I got!"

Hubert was impressed he was actually able to follow what she was saying. It was probably the first time he had been able to, ever. Although they both knew he would probably get lost with any other finer details but he was getting a good idea of where it was going. He leaned in again and looked at the pipe.

"So, how does it work?"

"Uh well, the cryas thingy will eventually be hooked up to a pipe system like in Fendal, but for now it's coming from the river next to the manor. It just rushes up the pipe with like so with the help of the eleth and gets heated by a fire cryas and you turn this little doodad and shazam! Water comes out of the pipe and falls down on you and you can clean off in a jiffy."

While he only got half of what she said this time, it was enough to understand that Pascal had found a way to harness water like they did in Stratha but use it in a way to bathe instead of beauty. "Hmm, I think I get it. You use a lot less water while you are at it too. Stratha could really benefit from this since we sometimes have water shortages in the summer. I'm impressed, Pascal."

It was Pascal's turn to blush. She looked down at her feet and dug her right toes into the ground. "Awe shucks, Hu. It is a lot easier to get all cleaned up since it only takes a few minutes instead of an hour. Kind of like sticking your head under a waterfall for a second then being done. That and Cheria has stopped chasing me around the place trying to stick me in the tub since I installed this."

Hubert chuckled. "I bet. At least it is good to see that you have taken my advice that you don't need help to bathe." He started to blush again and looked away but kept his gaze on her out of the corner of his eyes.

"Yeah… well…" Pascal almost never stuttered so it was odd hearing it from her. "Y-you should defiantly try it out and see if it works right. That is while you are here."

"Oh don't worry." Hubert smiled. "I'm sure everyone will want to try out your new invention so it will get plenty of use. Also, I'm sure the President would love to hear about this. It could solve a few problems in Strata."

"You think?" Pascal sounded a bit excited.

"Yeah, I will send him a message with the communicator later."

"Y-you left your communicator at home?"

"Well, yeah." Hubert did not understand why she would sound slightly sad. "You were here so I found that it would have been redundant to bring it along when I was going to see you. Besides, I left it with the President so I could keep in touch in case of an emergency."

Pascal made an "O" with her mouth in understanding. "W-well, I've got some more work to do. I'm sure you're tired and that Asbel will want to spend time with you later."

Before he could stop her Pascal turned and left him standing alone in the bathroom looking rather silly. He glanced and the tub. _She really is brilliant though._ Hubert sighed; he was going to be there for a little while so there would be plenty of time to talk with her. _And maybe she will even be coming with me back to Stratha._ He smiled at the thought and pushed his glasses back into place. _I really do need to get these resized too._


	3. When Words are not Enough

A/n: It has been a very long and tiring week of work for me and it's still not over. But... I think you guys have waited long enough. Here is my last chapter to this. I hope you enjoy and sorry, but I don't think I am going to continue this any time soon. Thanks for reading.

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**When Words are Not Enough**

The wedding was beautiful. Asbel and Cheria looked so incredibly happy as they said their vows and kissed one another. Hubert was only half paying attention to the actual ceremony with his other half paying very close attention to Pascal. While he had seen Pascal in some very different outfits over the time they traveled together he had never seen her in an actual dress. He thought she looked stunning in the pink dress Cheria picked out for her. He kept glancing over at her and he started to even imagine himself kissing her somewhere alone where he could wrap his arms around her and not care about what others thought.

After a while everyone started dancing. Pascal looked a little lonely as Richard danced with Sophie, Asbel with Cheria, and even Malik was dancing with Lt. Victoria. Hubert finally gathered up the courage to walk over to her and held out his hand. Silently she smiled at him and put her hand in his and he lifted her up to direct her to the dance floor. Slowly he took her up in his arms and swung her around like everyone else. He did not even notice the music, just her small frame between his arms.

"You're beautiful." He blurted out unintentionally and started to blush madly.

"Uh, thanks Hu." Pascal blushed as well. "You look good too."

His glasses slid down his face as he bent his head down to look at her closely. She surprised him when she lifted up her other hand and pushed them back up for him. Hubert swallowed as he felt like his face was getting closer to hers. He never even noticed the song had ended and that they were standing still.

"Um, Hu?" She broke into his thoughts and he pulled his face back away and cleared his throat.

"Yes?"

"What did the President say?"

He had received the bird earlier that morning but because of all the commotion had not gotten the time to tell anyone what it has said.

"Oh. Well, he is intrigued by your ideas and would like you to present them to him when you are ready. I'm sure he will agree to them once he sees the benefits it will bring to Stratha. He will also allow you to make a few prototypes for him to inspect when you present them."

"Ah." Pascal was abnormally quite the past week no matter how much he tried to talk to her. Even though they shared a room he sometimes noticed that she would come in late or not at all some nights as she worked on getting the rest of Lhant fully functional in her experiments.

"What's wrong, Pascal? I figured you would be excited to hear such news."

"I… I just don't know where I will stay in Stratha."

_That's what is bothering her?_ Come to think of it, he did not really think about that either.

"I'm sure my brother will think of something, Pascal." Asbel interrupted his thoughts and he automatically let go of Pascal and rubbed one of his arms.

"Y-yeah. Um, well, you could stay with me."

"Really?" Pascal seemed happy again. Cheria giggled behind her hand and he shot her a look.

"I now stay in the Military Apartments and they all have two bedrooms. I don't have a roommate because of my status so it wouldn't be a bother."

Asbel winked at him and pulled on Cheria. "See, I knew he would think of something. We are going to miss you Pascal, but are going to enjoy the new updates you did for our town."

"No problem, bro! It was lots of fun. I'm sure Possion will be down here soon with some other Amarcians to help get the pipe system all set in so you won't have to worry about using up all the water. And besides, you can't get rid of me that easily."

Asbel laughed and dragged his wife away from them and Hubert shook his head. He had not intended to be playing host to Pascal even though the thought was slightly intriguing only in the fact that he would be close to her. If he had not tried to show that his brother was right that he would think of something right there on the spot he was sure that once in Stratha the President would have set her up somewhere nice. He led her back to the tables and sat down next to her, needing his brow with a hand. _Keeping up with her is going to be a lot of work._ Then he remembered what Malik had told him last year. _"Taming a stray cat is going to take a lot of energy. Just hang in there."_ He smiled at remember those words and looked back to Pascal.

"Hey, are you sure your wife-to-be won't be all upset and stuff with me hanging around at your apartment?"

Hubert sighed. "I told you, I wasn't going to accept the offer and already informed them of my decision."

Pascal tilted her head to the side. "I still don't get it."

He stared her right into her golden eyes to the point where he could see his reflection. "Because of you." His heart thumped in his chest and he wondered if she could hear it.

"Huh, well, it's not like I don't have a good excuse not to get clean quickly anymore."

"You just don't get it do you?" Hubert muttered and stood up abruptly. "I guess you really are just as oblivious as Asbel."

"What?" Pascal asked.

"I'm going to get us some drinks." Hubert walked off with his mind buzzing with confusion. Even after all those months of talking back and forth she still did not get that he had feelings for her. It was going to be a very difficult taming.

* * *

Hubert pushed the paper in front of him off to the side and took off his glasses to rub his face. His desk looked the same as he had left it and the work did not seem like it had gotten any less over the past three weeks since he had returned to Stratha. The only difference now was Pascal was staying with him and his office was less hot because of her inventions. The President had agreed to let Pascal put in a few of her devices in different parts of the capital to see how well they did. The temperature control units were easy to place in and now a few offices and a few of the Military apartments were outfitted with them. The water unites where a bit more difficult because piping had to be laid out before they were completely installed. Pascal had requested that his apartment be the first of course so that she could bathe at regular intervals. She still missed a few when she got completely lost in her work and did not come back for the evening. Sometimes she had such a bad habit of it that Hubert would go find her and drag her back to the apartment so that she would sleep.

Finally he was done with his daily work and headed back to his apartment. Hopefully Pascal would come back at a reasonable hour so that she would eat and go to sleep. He opened the door to find her hunched over a few diagrams and layouts of the city as she munched on a banana. Hubert sighed and rolled his eyes.

"You can't keep eating just bananas, Pascal. They won't sustain you forever."

Her mouth was full when she tried to speak. "Oo, aom aan Ew."

He rolled his eyes again and headed to the little kitchenette behind the couch she was sitting on. "I'll make you some banana pancakes if you like."

"Pancakes for diner?" Pascal managed to swallow her food without incident and sounded surprised. She flipped around and rested her chin on the back of the couch.

"If it will get you to eat."

"Yippee!" she cheered and leapt off the couch and bounced into him. This caused him to stumble against her weight and his glasses nearly flew off his face.

"C-careful, Pascal." He warned and readjusted them back into place.

"Sorry." She let go of him and for a brief moment he was upset that their slight contact had ended. "Can I help?"

Pascal never cooked and this worried him. But at the same time he longed for her company. "Sure, as long as you let me do the actually cooking, we don't need to burn down the whole building."

"Yokay!" She exclaimed cheerfully.

Despite the mess they left afterwards, mostly because Pascal had a habit of spilling things easily, Hubert enjoyed having her help him cook dinner; even when it was breakfast. They ate and cleaned up their mess. It made Hubert happy that Pascal actually ate a good amount of food and was sprawled out against the couch looking like she was in slight bliss.

"Ooo, so much food!" Hubert gently pushed her legs aside and joined her on the couch to look at her work. "Thanks for dinner, Hu."

"I'm just glad that you actually ate something. I swear, you would forget to eat just as you forget to bathe if someone didn't remind you all the time."

Pascal became silent again. It was something that was starting to worry Hubert since it had not stopped since they met back in Lhant.

"Hu?" She finally broke the silence.

"Yes?"

"I've been wondering about this for a while, but why don't you like me calling you lil' bro?"

Hubert dropped the diagram he had been looking at and looked over at her. His heart started to beat faster and his breath shortened. And he was pretty sure he was blushing. "Because I… I don't want you to see me like a brother."

"Oh, well why?"

"Because…"

She was looking at him like she had back when he first tried to tell him about his feelings. There seemed to be no amount of words that he could say that would make her understand how he felt. He sighed and did the only thing he could think of at the moment. He grabbed her hand and pulled her to him, slidding his other arm around her waist and pressed her body against his. Without a second thought he bent his face down to hers. Pascal barely let out a tiny squeak as he pressed his lips on hers and kissed her. His heart leapt out of his chest as he felt her soft lips against his. Her body slowly un-tensed and went limp in his arms. He watch her close her golden eyes and shiver under his touch. Time seemed to stop as the kiss turned into one long burst of happiness for him. He had finally done it. Now he hoped that she would understand all those words he had tried to tell her.

He was unsure how long they sat there with their lips stuck together but it is quite evident that she was kissing him back after a while. This caught Hubert off guard as he did not expect anything other than a kiss to show her what he meant. What was he supposed to do?_ Continue to kiss her, stupid!_ He pressed his lips harder and pulled her even closer until his entire body felt like it was crushing hers. Only when he realized he was not breathing anymore did he break off the kiss. She looked just as out of breath as he did and was holding onto his waist. Suddenly his face felt hotter than if he had a fever and he turned his face away from her.

"I… I, uh… need to be up early in the morning." He blurted out and let go of her as he stood up from the couch. "Don't forget to sleep, Pascal." Without another word he bolted for his room, leaving a very confused Amarcian on his living room couch.

* * *

Only in the evening was it cool enough to leave windows and door open in Stratha. There was even a light breeze this evening and Hubert laid in bed unable to sleep. He could not believe that he had kissed Pascal and then just left her sitting there without an explanation. _Like you would even be able to give one that she would understand._ He laid there in his light sleep clothing replaying every moment back in his head. He wondered if he should have done something differently, if he should have continued kissing her regardless of his slight embarrassment. It was not like she pushed him away; she was kissing him back even. He was just no good at these things. A sliding noise told him Pascal had opened her door to the balcony over the water. It was followed by some footsteps that told him that she was not sleeping either. Hubert sighed and picked up his glasses and walked out to meet her. If anything he should apologize so they both could get some sleep.

"Can't sleep either?" he called out to her as he peaked out his door.

"Eek! Oh, hey Hu." She squeaked momentarily at his sudden appearance.

"I just wanted to…" He placed his glasses on and realized she was wearing something he had never seen her in before. It took him a few moments and his eyes adjusted to the moonlight before he was finally able to figure out what it is. "P-Pascal… are you wearing my uniform jacket?"

She turned to look up at him, her hair shined silver in the moonlight. Her smaller frame looked even tinier in his jacket as it hung loosely over her body. She was small enough that the front closed up all the way which made him less concerned. The last thing he needed was a half-naked Pascal on his balcony. She scratched at her head as she answered him.

"Yeah, well, after you… went to your room I took a bath and after I got out I realized I didn't have any clean cloths so I just grabbed the first clean thing I came across."

"Take it…" Hubert started to tell her to take off his jacket when he realized that she might not be wearing anything underneath it. The buttons on the collar were not hooked and it fell off to the side a little as Pascal tried to keep the jacket fully closed. "You know what. It's ok. But please put some clothes on."

"But I don't have anything else. They are all dirty."

She started to protest. Without thinking, Hubert pulled his shirt off and handed it to her. It should be big enough to cover her to her knees and hopefully she had something on that covered her bottom already. Never once had Pascal really shown any signs about caring about her clothes being dirty and he was not going to discourage it now. He always made sure that his clothing was cleaned so perhaps he should tell the maid to make sure Pascal's was cleaned as well. He turned away respectfully as she took off his jacket and pulled the shirt over her head. She poked him with her hand holding his jacket and he smiled at her. He put it on so he did not feel so naked in front of her and looked down at her standing in his shirt and some sort of loosely fitted shorts that hopefully were not his too.

"Hu?"

"Yes, Pascal?" He could not help but continue to smile at her.

"D-did you mean what you said and what you…" It did not take a genius to tell what she was talking about. She stepped closer to him and he could see a few water droplets in her hair. Even in the light of the moon he could tell she was blushing just as hard as he had not long before.

"I did." Was all he said before he picked her up in his arms once again and kissed her deeply.

This time he did not pull away completely when he ran out of breath. They stood there on the balcony locked in an embrace under the night's stars and the water from the oasis swirling in the background. Pascal ran her fingers through his blue hair as he tried to not let the shirt ride up too far. Finally, after they had nearly succeeded in knocking off his glasses, they broke their kiss but not their embrace. For a while the only breathed and looked at each other.

"I'm sorry it took me so long to admit my feeling too." Pascal whispered into his ear making his heart jump.

"W-wait, how long…?"

"Since I first saw you."

Hubert blinked but smiled at her. "It's ok. Ever since you saved me back in Zavheart I couldn't stop thinking about you."

Pascal returned his smile with one of her own. She pressed her body against his even more than it already was and clung to him.

"Hu, let me sleep with you tonight."

Hubert opened his mouth in shock. "Pascal! It is improper for two unm-"

She cut him off with a kiss. "Just sleep silly, nothing more. Besides, I think Asbel and Cheria would be furious if they missed anything… important."

He sighed. Once again she was pointing out the obvious. They did not have to do anything together in bed but sleep. "You're right. We can talk about it in the morning." He all but picked her up to take her into his room to lay down and cuddle next to her.

"I thought you said you had work early in the morning."

"I lied."

Pascal only got off a small smile before he was pressing his lips against her again for just a moment and pulled her body up into his arms before letting sleep over take them both.

* * *

This was for all the Hubert and Pascal fans out there who love the two and only to their demise... nothing. Not even a good mentionable bit of fan art/fiction.


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